Rainbow Warriors Unite

No one ever said you had to have the best car to win. It’s only which driver has the best car on the last lap that matters. Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, put on a dominating performance, leading 119 of the 267 laps. Jeff Gordon, on the other hand, led 9 of the 267. Guess what? The man who only led 9 laps came out victorious last Saturday night in Kansas City, Kansas. It all came down to a final pit stop for the #24 of Jeff Gordon. The #24 was running 2nd at the time of the pit stop that put him out in front of Kevin Harvick. Gordon pitted earlier and was on fresher tires before the #4 of Harvick. This put him ahead of Harvick for good, although, the #4 put on a late charge at the end. Congratulations to Jeff Gordon on the victory, as it has been a while since the #24 has been in Victory Lane.

Big Day for Mr. H

Rick Hendrick had all 4 cars of his place in the top 10. As stated earlier, Jeff Gordon was the victor, Kasey Kahne came away with a much needed 3rd place finish, the #88 of Dale Earnhardt, Jr finished 5th, and finally Jimmy Johnson finished just inside the top 10, in 9th place.

Big day for the 10

If there was anything that could overshadow Gordon’s victory, it would be the strong finish of Danica Patrick, in the #10 GoDaddy Chevrolet. Patrick, who has been racing full time in the Nascar Sprint Cup Series for only her 2nd year, came away with her best finish ever, 7th place. Congratulations to Danica on a well run race. She looked comfortable on the track, passing other notable drivers in the race, such as Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. She has credited her teammate, Kevin Harvick, with teaching her some things about the cars and the tracks on the circuit. Just another example of teammates helping one another. Nice run, Danica.

Bye Bye Kansas, Hello Charlotte

It’s All Star week once again. First, on Friday night, there will be a Sprint Showdown tonight on FoxSports 1 at 7 PM. Then Saturday night, the Sprint All Star race airs at 9 PM. Criteria for being in the All Star race is 1) Drivers who have won a race in the current and/or preceding year. 2) Drivers who are past Sprint Cup champions in the last 10 years. 3) Drivers who have won the All Star race in the past 10 years. 4) The winning driver of Friday night’s Sprint Showdown. 5) The driver who finishes 2nd in Friday night’s Sprint Showdown. 6) Driver voted in by the fans. It would be a safe bet that if Danica doesn’t win or place 2nd tonight, she will win the fan vote. Drivers already locked into tonight’s showdown are Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, David Ragan, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex, Jr, Brian Vickers, Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr, and Kurt Busch. Just a side note, 72% of the Nascar Sprint All Star races have been won from a top 10 starting position. A lot of money is on the line in the race, instead of points, so expect an interesting race with lots of sheet metal being traded to win that big purse.

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Jason Hildebrand was born in Cleveland, Tenn. and has lived his entire life in Bradley County. Jason started playing baseball at a very early age and went on to play at Cleveland High School where he graduated from in 1992. After graduation, Jason attended The University of Tennessee at Knoxville before graduating from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
An avid sports fan, Jason’s is a season ticket holder at the The University of Alabama. He has been fortunate enough to be a part of the last two Crimson Tide National Championships (’09 BCS game in Pasadena, CA and ’11 BCS game in New Orleans, LA). Though he primarily cheers, “Roll Tide Roll!,” he keeps up with all Collegiate football, regionally and nationally.
He is currently a co-host on the Sports Drive and the sideline reporter for Cleveland High School. He has been blogging for BeaverDamUSA.com since 2014.
In Jason’s spare time he enjoys playing golf and cooking (outdoors). Jason is the son of Terry and Diane Hildebrand, from Cleveland, TN. His birthday is October 3rd , and he is also the husband of Emily Beaty.